ETHICAL RESEARCH (RESEARCH JOURNAL OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR ISLAMIC THOUGHT)
Year:2006 | Volume:2 | Issue:3 (7)|Papers Count:10

Criminal policy is categorized into being scientific or ideological. The scientific criminal policy is based on scientific findings; but the ideological one on the beliefs, values or religious orders. So the criminal policy of an Islamic government is naturally affected, in its ideological part, by Islamic principles and values among which are easiness and tolerance. This essay is going to deal with the affect of these two principles on criminal policy of an Islamic government within the process of legislating and executing.Easiness and tolerance affect different things such as inferring canonic rules, acquisition of subjects in secondary topics, criminalizing of sins and deviances, making a guideline on passing unwritten law and finally forming a tolerating tendency to the use of magisterial power.

In interpretation of the verses 16-19 of surat al-Qiyama (the Resurrection), Shi’a and Sunni commentators suggested two interpretations of the addressee and the time of addressing. According to the first interpretation, which is the viewpoint of the majority of Koranic scholars, the addressee of the four mentioned verses is the high-honored Messenger of Islam and the time of address is the moment of descending revelation in this world. However, in accordance with the second interpretation, which is abandoned among the commentators in spite of lack of any argument against it, the addressee of those verses is human being and the time of address, the Day of Judgment. The reason for addressing the prophet is that God ensures calling to remembrance of the descended revelation. This point of view encountered serious controversies, the most important of which is that it is opposed to the denotation of some other Koranic verses, so that the union between them is impossible. On the other hand, it seems that the second viewpoint is not problematic, and can even be plausible.

Among the essential traits of the system of being are the differences in opinion and in character, which emerge by the very creation of human beings and other environmental factors. The recognition of these differences is a clear indication of applying the principle of toleration in society. The research into the Koranic verses and the infallable’s traditions can show that toleration is an important Islamic principle and one of the main factors of spreading Islam in the Arabian Peninsula as well as in the world. In view of the fact that religious leaders were tolerant, they succeeded to improve the people’s life, including their worldly life and otherworldly life. Referring to the importance of debating toleration in today’s society, the author proceeds to define it and to enumerate its differences from flattery and tolerance; then the paper explicates the theoretical principles of toleration in the light of the holy Koran and the Infallible’s traditions and biographies. At the end, the author analyzes by virtue of traditional evidence and rational arguments the fact that toleration means that no one is allowed to smother disagreements and differences, which encompasses the general scope of life personal or societal; and it also includes moderateness and lenience unto all opponents.

Invocation is a Quranic term, in all of whose usages, there is a common implied meaning. However, in most of them, there is one meaning supplemented. Some scholars have mentioned subdivisions for invocation that include even “meditation”.Invocation of God is the union with the one God and appears in a variety of manifestations. The absoluteness of “Remember me” in the Koran covers all ways of man’s remembering God. In this regard, the paper presents the interpretations of Shi`a infallible leaders and the opinions of great exegetes such as Shaykh Tusi, Tabari, Zamakhshari, Meibudi, Fakhr ar-Razi, Abulfutūh ar-Razi, Allamah Tabataba`i, and Suyuti. Moreover, the highest degree of invocation is the oblivion of the real self, the accomplishment of which is in the union with God. Invocations of man’s tongue, soul, self, mind, nature, heart, etc, are fully dealt with in this paper.

During his life, as the history books testify, the prophet Muhammad did perform many miracles, all of which are indicative of the greatness of his personality. However, there have been attributed to the prophet some miraculous acts and incidents, the result of which is nothing but debilitation of his character and defect in his greatness and infallibility. Splitting open the prophet’s chest is one of these incidents indicated in the narrative and historical books of the Sunni Muslims. According to the Sunni sources, in his early age when Muhammad was in the care of Halima, two angels came and ripped his chest open and removed a black clot from his heart and so on. This incident is counted among the prophet’s virtues and miracles. The present essay, which is an analytic study of the above-mentioned incident, attempts to show its incongruity with the prophet’s infallibility.

From theoretical and practical viewpoint, political rights and liberty in modern societies have encountered many difficulties, including serious disagreements of Muslim thinkers. On the whole, from the study of authentic sources of religious thought, one can infer a favorable view. It seems that the glorious Qur’an as well as the prophetic and alawite traditions agree with the freedom within the government as well as the freedom from the government. The first type indicating the right of electing rulers and the participation in decision-makings is provable by virtue of the Quranic verses and the traditions; so is the second type which implies the right to control, to counsel, to protest (enjoining the good and forbidding the evil), and to demand, though in using those rights, there are some special limits the most important of which are truth and the sanctity of privacy of the others.

Esteshab" is originally termed as "sohbat" meaning shortest and strongest sense, it is defined as "formerly remained" that is ruling. The surviaval of something earlier existed. Esteshab, like any other development, was primarily unknown and discovered step by step by the Islamic scientists and covered evolutionary process. For the first time, the term has been employed in Sheikh-e-Mofid Tazkrah among the remained works of the Islamic scientists.Apparently, the scientists such as Seyyed Murtida and Sheikh-e- Tusi knew it as rule of reason.According to Sheikh-e-Ansari, the first to turn to proving Esteshab in reports was father of Sheikh bahaie, while in the present article, proof shows that his predecessant scientists like Sheikh-e- Tusi and Allameh Helli before father of Skeikh Bahaie turned to narrations when reasoning Esteshab. Sheikh Ansari through initiatively functional principles placed esteshab side by side three other functional principles and changed its nature from circumstantial evidence of narration into functional principle of narration. Hence, in this period reports related to esteshab were viewed differently. Yet, this article proves that nowadays the only document reasoning esteshab is prescription of the sage convention and habit common among the learned men.